I’ve recently been assisting a PhD candidate, Jack O’Byrne at Virginia Tech’s Center for Public Administration and Policy, with making connections in the 311/CRM industry.  His doctoral research focuses on 311 citizen service centers and local governments’ communications with citizens using technology and social media.  It’s extremely relevant research given the changing times in which we live.  Local governments now have a much wider variety of methods of communicating with their constituents, and a more nuanced understanding of how technology and social media can be used to foster and nurture greater citizen engagement is critical.

While I think the research of the future Dr. O’Byrne is important in and of itself, I am perhaps equally excited by the fact that research efforts such as his provide evidence that the academic community is increasingly beginning to look at the 311/CRM industry and lend its understanding and support to the field.  At both the recent CW Week 311 Synergy Group Spring Meeting in Dallas and the Association of Government Contact Center Professionals (AGCCP) in St. Louis, 311/CRM leaders throughout North America expressed the need for better calculating return on investment, understanding the influence of 311/CRM systems on citizen satisfaction with local government services, and determining how local governments can use 311/CRM systems for greater citizen engagement among other topics.

We do live in changing times, but they are exciting times as well, and promise considerable potential for reshaping how local governments can most effectively deliver services.  With the advent of new research like that of Jack O’Byrne's, we’ll soon have more evidence of what will work best.